Kevork Djansezian / Reuters
Xbox head Phil Spencer revealed in an interview with the Financial Times that Microsoft is preparing to launch the Xbox mobile game store on iOS and Android. The fastest time is next year, and the specific date depends on when regulators approve their acquisition of Activision Blizzard. “We want to make games from Xbox and third-party partners available on any platform that anyone wants to play,” Spencer said. advancing in an open direction.”
In documents submitted to the UK Competition and Markets Authority last year, Microsoft first mentioned plans to prepare a mobile game store. At the time, they didn’t give a specific timetable, only saying that the deal with Activision Blizzard would play a key role. “The upcoming Digital Marketplace Act is something we’ve anticipated in our plans, and I think it’s going to be a huge opportunity,” Spencer said. Under the bill, major platforms, defined by the EU as “gatekeepers,” are required to open up their devices to competing app stores. Bloomberg reported last year that Apple had begun work on a March 2024 deadline to bring iOS into compliance with the bill.
However, before the new regulations take effect, it is difficult to guarantee that Microsoft can complete the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In an interview, Spencer seemed to accept that, though he stressed that it would be “pretty trivial” for Microsoft to adapt its existing Xbox and Game Pass apps to sell games and subscriptions through mobile devices.